Adapt and Overcome (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Some days just don't go as planned.


_Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more._

_REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best._

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**Adapt and Overcome (1/1)**

"Are you kidding me?" Catherine raised her head up off the pillow as Steve reached for his phone on the bedside table. She squinted at the clock on the dresser. 3:45 AM. "You just got home two hours ago."

The team had finally taken a break after an intense forty-eight straight hours investigating the deaths of two people, Carson and Peggy Whitlock, found shot execution style, then dumped in a state park. The couple were both science professors at UofH and appeared to have no enemies to speak of. Outside of a few disgruntled students no one had anything bad to say about the couple. All of their friends and colleagues described them as normal, hard-working people. Married 23 years. Regular church goers. Active in their community.

With the investigation stuck in neutral the team decided to head home for a few hours sleep with the hope looking at things with fresh eyes in the morning might help.

"McGarrett." He listened for a few seconds. "I'm on my way."

"Break in the case?" Catherine asked.

"Maybe." Steve sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed his hands over his face. "HPD found a property registered under Peggy Whitlock's maiden name. Looks like some kind of vacation cabin but there are signs it's been used recently. We need to go check it out."

Catherine sat up and stretched. "I'll make a pot of coffee while you jump in the shower."

"That's ok." Steve kissed her on the cheek. "You go back to sleep. I'll stop and grab some on the way."

* * *

"Sorry to intrude on your peaceful morning," a slightly frazzled Catherine said as she and Angie came through the front door of the Rollins' condo. She had a stuffed full tote bag slung over one arm and carried a white garment bag in one hand and an empty container of what had been Angie's breakfast yogurt in the other. "The contractor forgot to notify us they'd be turning the water off early this morning to move some of the lines."

"Don't be silly." Grandma Ang held out her arms and Angie crawled happily into her lap. "Peace and quiet is overrated. I'm always thrilled to see my two favorite girls."

"I have a meeting with the head of the senate commerce committee in …" Catherine checked her watch. "Thirty-five minutes so I need to get moving."

"No worries," Grandma Ang smiled. "You mother and father met some friends for breakfast but they should be home soon and my namesake and I will be just fine until they get here."

"Thanks," Catherine smiled gratefully. "I'd planned on taking her to work with me but I got a call last night that the infrastructure bill we've been working on for months is in trouble and I'm gonna end up in back to back meetings all day. I texted Esther. She has a doctor's appointment this morning but she said she'll be happy to come by and pick Angie up if you guys have other plans for the day."

"Nonsense." Grandma Ang tickled her namesake's belly. "There's nothing we'd rather do than spend the day with this angel."

"You be good for Grandma Ang." Catherine smiled at her daughter. "Mommy is gonna jump in the shower and get ready for work."

Eighteen minutes later Catherine emerged from the condo's guest bathroom ready to face the day. If she was lucky and didn't hit any traffic she'd make it to the office just in time for her first meeting. As she neared the living room she heard a small crash and Angie's unmistakable "Uh-oh!" She turned the corner to find Grandma Ang's container of BINGO chips overturned on the floor of the living room.

"Uh-oh!" Angie repeated as she leaned over and picked up a handful of the colorful plastic chips.

"You're timing leaves a little something to be desired today, baby girl," Catherine sighed as she knelt down to pick up the chips.

"Just leave them," Grandma Ang insisted. "We'll be fine. Your mother called while you were in the shower and said they're on their way home. Angie and I are just going to watch some tv until they get here." She picked up the remote. "Paw Patrol is on. That's one of our favorites."

Catherine scooped the last of the chips back into their container and placed it on the coffee table. She disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a sippy cup of milk and a bowl of grapes. "Here's a little snack to eat while you're watching." She surreptitiously passed Grandma Ang a small Ziploc bag containing oatmeal cookies and winked at her. "Use those as necessary." She kissed both her grandmother and her daughter. "You two have fun today."

* * *

"It's hard to believe two mild mannered science professors were actually drug kingpins cooking up designer narcotics in their dumpy little vacation cottage," Steve said as he toweled off his face and hair.

"It's even harder to believe they took the time to booby trap the place with …" Danny grimaced. "What exactly is that stuff?"

Steve was in front when the team breached the door of the cabin so he took the brunt of the booby trap. He wasn't sure exactly what it was made of but it felt like motor oil and smelled like sulfur and he was covered with it from head to toe. There were no immediate effects such as burning or difficulty breathing so it seemed likely it was designed to discourage people from entering the cabin more than to hurt them. Once they made entry they found a drug lab that rivaled anything they'd ever come across.

"I have no idea," Steve grumbled, "But it's disgusting. While they finish processing the scene let's go to your house so I can shower and change. Good thing I keep a go bag in the trunk of the Camaro."

"I don't want that gunk clogging up my shower," Danny said. "We're going to your house."

"We can't. The contractor has the water shut off today," Steve replied.

"Then I'll take you to the Y," Danny offered.

"Stop being a baby." Steve stripped off his shirt. "Your shower is the closest."

"Why my place? Why not headquarters? We have a perfectly good locker room there."

"It's too far out of the way." Steve grabbed a blanket to cover Danny's seat with. "Now that we know what we're dealing with we have to head back to campus and reinterview some of the Whitlock's colleagues."

"I still don't think…" Danny's words were interrupted by the sound of Steve's phone ringing.

Steve glanced at the phone. "It's the mayor."

"What does he want?"

"Let's find out." Steve connected the call. "McGarrett."

"_Steve, where are you and Danny? Did you forget we have a meeting with the group from Seattle today? The ones who are looking at creating a task force like Five-0 and want our input."_

Steve grimaced. "It slipped my mind. We're in the middle of a case. Any chance we can reschedule?"

"_None. They're only in town for today. And they came here specially to meet with the two of you. And if you recall we've already rescheduled on two other visits."_

"OK." Steve blew out a breath. "Stall them for a few minutes. We're on our way." He hung up the phone and turned to Danny. "We forgot that meeting with the task force committee from Seattle. They're waiting in the mayor's office. There's no time for me to shower anywhere but at your place now."

Danny dropped his chin to his chest. "Of course there isn't."

* * *

"The exterminators are here," Jen announced when Catherine returned from her lunch meeting.

Catherine looked around the office. "Where?"

"Well they're not here here but they're in the building," Jen explained. Apparently we have an infestation of silverfish."

Catherine rubbed her temples. It had already been a very long day and it was barely halfway over. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"I wish I was. The guys who are spraying will be here within the hour and they requested we leave office for at least an hour afterwards."

Catherine sighed. "Did you explain to them that I have meetings all afternoon?"

"I did." Jen picked up her day planner. "They didn't seem to care."

"Can we move the meetings to the conference room?"

"No can do." Jen shook her head. "The exterminators are using it as a staging area."

Catherine rolled her head from side to side to release some of the tension in her neck. "What are our other options?"

"Well, I hope you have your running shoes with you because you're now meeting Senator Tanaka in her office in 10 minutes and you know how she hates tardiness." Jen smiled sympathetically. 'I'll text you once I get the rest of them rescheduled."

* * *

"This whole case has been one unexpected development after another," Danny said as he and Steve exited HPD and headed across the parking lot towards his car. "Who would have ever guessed a nerdy grad student could commit such a cold-blooded murder?"

After meeting with the group from Seattle, Danny and Steve headed back to campus to question the Whitlocks' students and coworkers again, this time armed with the information about their illegal drug activities. They noticed immediately that one of the science department grad students seemed very unsettled to realize the drug operation had been uncovered. They separated him from the rest of the group and he folded almost immediately under intense questioning and confessed to the murder.

The Whitlocks had cut the young man in several months earlier when he turned in some research they believed could help them branch out into the lucrative arena of designer club drugs. At first the lure of easy money was too hard to resist but when he tried to back out a few months later, arguing that the illicit nature of the business was too stressful for him to handle, the Whitlocks refused to let him go. They told him that if he didn't continue on they'd ruin him academically. Terrified at the idea that he would never be able to break free he dosed himself with one of his own creations and while under the influence entered the Whitlocks' home, abducted them, drove them to a remote area, and murdered them.

"People can do unexpected things when they feel trapped." Steve yawned. "I'm just glad we wrapped things up. I'm looking forward to a relaxing night at home with my wife and daughter."

* * *

Catherine sighed heavily as she hung her tote bag on the hook inside the front door. She'd spent the entire afternoon and a good chunk of the evening racing around the island from one meeting to the next but in the end it was worth it. The infrastructure bill was back on track.

"Mommy!" Angie raced across the living room with her arms up. "Daddy! Mommy he'we!"

"I see her." Steve smiled.

Catherine picked up Angie and hugged her tightly. "Did you have a fun day, baby girl?"

The toddler's curls bounced as she shook her head an emphatic yes.

Steve leaned over and kissed his wife on the lips. "You look exhausted."

"It's just been a very long day," she said. "I'm glad you wrapped your case."

Angie squirmed to get down and Catherine reached down to pet Cammie.

"Luckily Duke offered to finish up the paperwork so I was able to get out early and pick up Angie since your folks and Grandma Ang are going to the Frankie Valli show tonight."

"Oh, that's right. With everything going on today I forgot that was tonight." Catherine looked around as if she had just noticed something. "Is it my imagination or is it dark in here?"

"You're very observant," Steve teased. "Actually, there's something I have to tell you."

"Please tell me the water isn't still off?" Her voice held a whine that she found very unattractive but she couldn't help herself.

"The water is back on." Steve smiled. "But the electricity is off."

"Nooooo." She collapsed into his shoulder.

Steve sank down into the sofa and pulled her into his lap. "Apparently they cut some wires today when they were rerouting the water lines. They couldn't get it fixed before the end of the day but Keawe promised me they'll be back first thing in the morning to finish up and we'll have power back by breakfast. He offered to pay for a night at a hotel but I told him that wasn't necessary."

"So what's your plan for tonight?" she asked wearily.

"Well, I thought maybe we could blow up the air mattress, order some takeout, and have a camping adventure in the living room."

The sparkle in his eyes made Catherine's stomach do a flip. She grinned. "You are a master strategist, Commander."

"Why don't you run up and change and I'll call for pizza," he suggested.

Angie threw her arms in the air. "YAY! Pi-zza!"

"Before I forget …" He reached for an envelope lying on the coffee table. "We got a letter from the Department of Children's Services. Just letting us know that Estella has completed her report and we should expect a final decision within 30 days."

Catherine's face lit up. "This is really happening. Are we ready for this?"

Steve kissed her on the cheek just as Angie crawled up on the couch chanting "Pi-zza! Pi-zza!"

"So ready," he said confidently. "Bring it on."

**THE END**

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